ORD-2010-025 Upper Eno Watershed Critical Area-Zoning Ordinance

Browse Search

2 higher priority items to accomplish further implementation of the Efland-Mebane Small Area Plan which calls for a re-evaluation of the Critical Area boundary for Seven Mile Creek. The current Critics! Area boundary is based upon a potentia! reservoir (1987 Study) tieing created on Seven Mile Creek and the full pool elevation of the reservoir was used as the calculation point for the %mile Critical Area boundary in 1994. Staff gave a presentation on this topic at the October 13, 2009 BOCC work session and the BOCC directed staff to proceed with the proposed amendments. At the time the initial Critical Area boundary was adopted (1994), the Town of Hillsborough was going through the process of deciding which potential reservoir site on the Upper Eno River should be chosen for its needed reservoir. The County adopted a Critical Area boundary that protected three identified potential reservoir sites (see Map 3.4 in Attachment 3): • West Fork on the Eno • Eno River above McGowan Creek • Seven Mile Creek Ultimately, the Town chose to build its reservoir on the West Fork on the Eno site, which was constructed to allow for a future Phase II expansion. The Town has no plans to construct an additional reservoir. For this reason, County staff is suggesting that references to potential reservoir sites be removed from the Zoning Ordinance text and that the Critical Area boundary be amended accordingly. State and County Critical Areas When the Critical Area text and map boundary, was adopted by the BOCC in 1994 in response to State mandates to protect Class I Water Supply Reservoirs, Orange County opted to adopt protection measures beyond the State-required minimum. A local government is permitted to do so under the State Rules. Staff is suggesting that the County regulations more clearly indicate that a portion of the Critical Area is State-required while other portions are County-designated. It should be noted that both State-required and County-designated Critical Areas are proposed to be subject to the same regulations. Map 3.3 in Attachment 3 depicts the State-required and County-designated Critical Areas. New Definitions Staff is suggesting the Zoning Ordinance text be amended to reflect new technically. descriptive criteria for the. County-designated Critical Areas. Specifically, staff is suggesting that Class 11 reservoirs (West Fork on the Eno and Lake Orange) receive the same protection as Class I reservoirs (Corporation Lake and Lake Ben Johnson). The amendments to Article 22 (Definitions) of the Zoning Ordinance (see Attachment 1) includes the technical definitions of Class I and Class II reservoirs. In layman's terms, the difference between the two types of reservoirs is that the intake pipe for a water treatment plant is located in the Class I reservoir. A Class II reservoir does not contain the intake pipe. Staff is also suggesting that certain important streams receive County-designated Critics( Area protection. Staff is proposing this be accomplished by protecting streams of a certain hierarchy (stream order). Attachment 4 is a staff "white paper" that further explains why this is important.